War: An Illustrated History

Conflicts such as the Vietnam war and the Soviet attempt to dominate Afghanistan show it is not always the best armed who prevail. The willingness of a nation to suffer losses, organisational issues - such as how troops are organised on the battlefield, the nature of force structures and the organisation of societies for conflict - and the political context can all make the difference between victory and defeat. Nor is it correct to assume that war is essentially a struggle between organised regular forces: civil conflict, terrorism and guerrilla activities are types of warfare which are too often excluded from discussions of military history.

In War: An Illustrated World History, Jeremy Black has created a powerful work with a truly world-wide scope. Encompassing warfare from ancient times to medieval, from the nineteenth century to the future, and from West to East, this is a book which will appeal to all interested in military history. With many original insights into the course of warfare in all parts of the world and a refreshing tendency to turn accepted interpretations on their head, Jeremy Black offers something that other military historians do not: a truly global history of war.